Amateur Radio Newsline Assumes Low Profile as Its Editor Recuperates

The long-running Amateur Radio Newsline — a weekly audio report of ham radio news — has scaled back temporarily while its editor, Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, recuperates from injuries sustained in a fall at home and undergoes additional cardiac and pulmonary testing and rehabilitation to address some chronic issues. Pasternak has been in the hospital for nearly a month, since breaking two ribs in the household mishap on December 18. He was initially scheduled to stay for a couple of days.

“Right now, Don Wilbanks, AE5DW, is producing a 5 to 6 minute version of Newsline, and that will continue for another couple of weeks, I guess,” Pasternak told ARRL. “In 37 years this is the first time we’ve missed publishing.” Wilbanks has been producing a shortened audio/video report, which is included in the weekly Ham Nation webcast, posted on YouTube, and linked from the Amateur Radio Newsline website and Facebook page. Pasternak said the roughly 30-minute weekly audio report and the text script, posted weekly on QRZ.com, are on hold for now.

“The plans are right now that Don will continue the short version,” Pasternak said. “I had hoped to be home by now, but my doctors say otherwise.” Pasternak said he has been contributing some material from his hospital room, as time and circumstances permit.

“My sincere thanks to both Don and our Webmaster Kevin Trotman, N5PRE, for keeping the various entities as up to date as possible with the latest breaking news,” Pasternak said in a statement on the ARNewsline site, “and I can assure you that the full length newscast (both audio and text) will be back, hopefully in the very near future.”